


Edifice

by Longitudinalwave



Category: Transformers Generation One
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27256855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Longitudinalwave/pseuds/Longitudinalwave
Summary: How six became one.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thanks for checking out my story! 
> 
> I've never done a story in this format before. The individual sections will eventually get longer and then start to blend together, but for right now, they're short. 
> 
> This story takes place in what is basically the G1 Cartoon universe, and more specifically will use the events of "The Secret of Omega Supreme".
> 
> This is my first time writing the Constructicons, so hopefully it goes well.

There were six. 

*

In Iacon, the sole creation of a pair of brilliant engineers displayed uncommon genius. 

*

In Altihex, there was a rambunctious little fellow with a name designed to scare off any threat.

*

In Polyhex, a unit of laborers welcomed their newest member. Hard work was all they knew.

*

In Tarn, a youngling chemist’s oddities kept him isolated.

*

In Helex, another brilliant youngling was trapped by his alternate mode.

*

And in the slums of Tesaurus, an abandoned sparkling wandered, his tail dragging behind him.

*

One day, they would be seven. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter; things will get longer from here (after I get less busy). 
> 
> The Constructicons speak!

“I’ve never seen such an amazing design, especially not from a youngling. You are truly an architectural genius, lad.” 

“It was nothing, really.” 

*

“Tell him to stop hitting me!” 

“Stop hitting Gravedigger, son.” 

*

“Do I  _ have  _ to?” 

“I’m afraid so. Loading and unloading is the story of our lives.” 

*

“How did this happen?” 

“I mixed the sodium sulfide with hydrochloric acid!” 

*

“I am going to become a medic.” 

“Don’t be stupid. Construction workers like us never become medics.”

*

“Can I have some energon, please?” 

*

"DEVASTATOR, SMASH!" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading. I will update again soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The creation of the Constructicons!

Scrapper of Iacon was created into a life of prosperity, the last in a long line of brilliant engineers. One of his ancestors had even designed the blueprints for Iacon’s Great Dome itself. Due to this lineage, great things were expected of the young mech...and he did not disappoint. By the time he was a vorn old, rumors were already spreading that he was a more skilled engineer than his creators, and he entered Iacon University’s School for Architecture and Design, the most renowned university of its kind, while still a youngling. Despite his lineage and his astonishing genius, Scrapper was always modest, constantly deflecting the praise he received onto others and downplaying his achievements. Rather than the boastful young mech that many expected, he came off as reserved, even shy. This, combined with his obvious passion for engineering and building design, made him the darling of every construction company on Cybertron, all of whom wished to make use of his talents when he finished school.

*

Bonecrusher of Altihex was created by a pair of bulldozers, both of whom, somewhat unusually, had chosen to enter a field other than construction. Instead, they both worked for the local sparkling academy, one as a teacher and the other as a sports coach. From the beginning, Bonecrusher had had a bit of a wild streak, one that only increased as he grew older. He wasn’t noticeably cruel, but he had a hair-trigger temper and a lot of pent-up energy that often got exerted in disruptive ways. Because of this, he never had much of a knack for school, but he did fairly well in the numerous sports programs offered by the academy. His younger brother, Gravedigger, was much the same, and the two had a running, but good-natured, rivalry throughout their sparklinghood. As Bonecrusher approached maturity, he began to take an interest in construction, the very field his creators had abandoned. More specifically, he took an interest in demolitions. What better way to handle his temper and excess energy than in a job where he could make things explode? 

*

Long Haul of Polyhex was created by a pair of dump trucks who worked in construction. Their ancestors had worked in that field since time immemorial, and no one in the family expected Long Haul to do anything else. Whenever he didn’t have classes at his sparkling academy, he was working with his creators at a construction site, making their loads just a bit easier. As he grew older, most of the big construction companies moved out of Polyhex, leaving his family, who had never been wealthy, in a precarious financial situation. Eventually, in spite of his dreams of a grander future, Long Haul chose to drop out of the academy in order to help make ends meet. He didn’t like it, but if he wanted to survive, loading and unloading would have to be his life. 

*

Mixmaster of Tarn was the creation of a scientist named Sulfite, who was rumored to be more than a little mad. He talked to himself, giggled for no readily apparent reason, and generally looked unkempt, never seeming to be properly polished. His neighbors suspected that his processor had been fried by the strange chemical concoctions that he cooked up, and no one had blamed his conjunx endura when she had left him shortly after Mixmaster’s creation. Mixmaster was every inch the mad scientist’s creation. Just like Sulfite, Mixmaster had a habit of giggling at the most inopportune moments, talking to himself, and ignoring basic personal hygiene, and, much like his creator, he was unpopular amongst his peers. This didn’t seem to bother Mixmaster much though. He was apparently quite happy playing by himself with his creator’s chemicals. At the sparkling academy, he excelled in mathematics and science, but did rather poorly in all his other classes, and he was rather infamous for making things explode, melt, or otherwise be destroyed. As he grew older, so did his reputation for eccentricity...to the point that, when Sulfite died of spark failure, there were rumors that Mixmaster had somehow been responsible. When he was accepted into the Science and Mathematics branch of the University of Iacon, at a considerably younger age than was typical, the part of Tarn in which he had lived was nothing but relieved to see him go. 

*

Hook of Helex wished that he had been created somewhere else. Unlike the rest of Cybertron, which had long moved on from the idea that your alt mode determined your future, Helex was still governed by a strict functionalist government. Hook, like everyone else in his family, transformed into a construction vehicle, and, according to the laws of Helex, there was only one profession that he could legally pursue: work in construction. Not engineering, mind you-that was reserved for individuals with more “sophisticated” alt modes-but simple labor. Hook had no interest in that. From a very young age, he had displayed a brilliant mind and an interest in medicine, both of which worried his creators to no end. Construction vehicles weren’t supposed to be interested in-or even capable of-much book learning, and they definitely weren’t allowed to be medics. They tried hard to convince their creation to give up on the idea of being anything other than a construction worker, but to no avail. Even after he completed the only vorn of schooling legally allowed to construction vehicles, he continued to learn by bartering with individuals of a higher social status, trading assistance (and shanix, on the rare occasions he had any to spare) for datapads and recordings of lessons, apparently unconcerned by the fact that this was technically illegal. He even managed to secretly apply for-and be accepted into- the medical branch of Iacon University. He was going to become a medic, and nothing was going to stand in his way....except getting arrested. As punishment for defying the laws of Functionalism, Hook was viciously beaten, and his creators, who were already struggling financially, were forced to pay a heavy fine. The punishment was intended to deter Hook from pursuing his goal, but instead, it only made him more determined to achieve his dream. A few days after his beating, he fled to Iacon to seek his future. Nothing, and he meant nothing, would prevent him from becoming a medic….but he was going to have to find a way of supporting himself. 

*

Scavenger of Tesaurus (had he been built in Tesaurus? He didn’t know) had been created by….someone. He didn’t know who. His earliest memories consisted of him wandering, alone, through the slums in which he lived. He assumed that at least one of his creators had been a construction vehicle, since he was one, but that was the extent of his knowledge. Most likely they had thrown him out like trash, since everyone he came across treated him like trash. Scavenger spent his sparklinghood begging for energon, searching for safe places to recharge, and running away from bigger, meaner mechs who would beat him up if they caught him, but he always dreamed of having a place where he would belong and be wanted. The one bright spot in his otherwise bleak life was the fact that his tail could sense valuable metals. It was due to this ability that he hadn’t died of fuel deprivation, and it was also due to this ability that he finally escaped the slums of Tesaurus. One day, when he was searching for something that he could trade for energon, a wealthy-looking young mech came up to him and asked him what he was doing. When he explained, the mech introduced himself as “Scrapper” and asked Scavenger if he would like to become a member of his construction crew. Thrilled at the idea of finally having someplace to belong, Scavenger eagerly agreed. 

*

Devastator was created in a haze of confusion, anger, and fear. He didn’t understand what he was, where he had come from, or why he existed. But there was one thing he did understand: the fact that he was extremely strong. There, then, was a solution to his confusion and sense of powerlessness. Devastator...crush! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scrapper forms his team. Devastator intends to make sure it stays together forever.

Scrapper couldn’t believe his luck. While on a class trip to study the architecture of Tesaurus, he had managed to stumble upon a mech that would be a perfect fit for the construction team he was planning to put together. ‘Scavenger’, as the mech called himself, was a bit clingy and clearly not the sharpest tool in the toolbox, but his ability to detect useful materials without the need for any external equipment would put any other mining and salvage worker to shame. Getting Scavenger approved to live and work in Iacon would’ve proved difficult for most employers, but for the most promising architectural genius on the planet, it was child’s play to ensure that all the necessary paperwork was filled out for his new employee. Scavenger, he was sure, was the start of the finest construction team any engineer had ever assembled. 

*

Bonecrusher smiled as he shook Scapper’s hand. He had picked up the tools of his trade quickly, and his skill in demolitions had paid off. He had to be good if he had been hired to work by the most promising architect in the city of Iacon. Even better, now he would be world-renowned for getting to blow things up all day! His life was the best! True, the excavator Scrapper had brought with him was a little weird and really clingy, but who cared? He had it made! 

*

Long Haul reluctantly shook the hand of the wealthy young engineer who had just hired him. Sure, he would’ve liked to go to the University himself; do something other than “get this, bring that”, but that was never going to happen as long as his family needed him to work. If he had to be a gofer, at least he was going to be the gofer for a famous genius. It was better than trying to find construction work in Polyhex, at any rate. And hey, the genius was rich, too, so he was gonna be well paid...even if he did have to work with a clingy weirdo and a demolitions mech who was way too enthusiastic about his job. He figured he’d had worse coworkers. 

*

Mixmaster giggled as he signed Scrapper’s contract. He had never expected to be a part of a construction team, but why not? It might be fun! And if it wasn’t, he could just leave and do experiments on his own. He could tell that the mechs Scrapper had introduced as his other employees-the two big lugs and the annoyingly clingy one with the scoop-tail- didn’t quite know what to think of him, but he didn’t care. As long as he could carry out his experiments and continue to fund his education, he could ignore the gossip of small-minded mechanisms who didn’t understand him or his work. Besides, it was flattering that a wealthy genius like Scrapper had recognized his talent in the field of chemistry and had hired him to serve as his personal chemist and materials fabricator. It proved that his professors were wrong when they called his ideas mad and his experiments dangerous! If the greatest architectural genius in a generation could see Mixmaster’s genius, then it had to be real! He was going to go down in history as the greatest chemist of all time! 

*

In an ideal world, Hook would never have agreed to sign the contract. After all, he had spent his entire life attempting to escape from construction work. But alas, his world was not ideal. If he wanted to pay for his medical education, he needed to take the job, and so he did. He signed Scrapper’s contract and agreed to work alongside him as both a crane and as an engineer, and in exchange, Scrapper promised to house him and pay his tuition. (The idea of a construction vehicle wealthy enough to easily pay for someone else’s housing and schooling would have shocked Helexian society, but in Iacon, it wasn’t anything unusual. Hook had to admit he felt a bit of envy towards the young engineer for that.) The fact that Scrapper’s team had been hand-picked to be the best construction team on the planet further sweetened the deal. True, he was also going to have to work with a quartet of insufferable fools, but as soon as he finished medical school, he would never have to see them again. It was not the ideal situation, but under the circumstances, it was one he could tolerate...at least long enough to achieve his goal. 

*

As thrilled as he had been when Scrapper hired him, Scavenger was even more thrilled once Scrapper had completed his construction group. Now he had even more friends, who he’d get to work with and see all the time! True, Bonecrusher and Long Haul made fun of him, Mixmaster seized up and spat at Scavenger whenever he was touched, and Hook almost always ignored him, but he’d eventually bring them around. He hoped. But he had a steady supply of energon, a place to live, and at least one mech who thought he was worth something for the first time in his life. Things were finally looking up! 

*

Devastator didn’t understand why his components had come together. It was too complicated for him to understand, and trying to made his head hurt, which in turn made him want to smash things. What he did understand was that he wanted them to stay together forever. In fact, he would be happy if they never separated, because that way he could be awake forever and they would always be with him. “COMPONENTS...BELONG TO...DEVASTATOR!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading! I will try to update again soon!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Constructicons build Crystal City...and meet Omega Supreme.

Time passed, and Scrapper’s group became famous as they created architectural masterpiece after architectural masterpiece. Even Hook, who would proudly tell anyone who asked (and many who didn’t) that he was, in fact, a proper surgeon now, was glad to have played a major part in the groups’ accomplishments...so glad, in fact, that he actually stayed with the group even after fully completing his education. However, no one was more excited about the group’s progress than Scrapper was. It had, after all, been his dream to create a construction team that would revolutionize the architectural world. Unlike Hook, he didn’t much care for the accolades...he was just thrilled to finally be able to make his dreams of a more beautiful Cybertron into reality. Of all the work he had done, the project that brought him the most joy was Crystal City. Scrapper and his team had been commissioned to merely rebuild the city of Digilex, but Scrapper had decided to go above and beyond the call of duty. Rather than merely repairing the city, Scrapper determined to transform it into a work of art. Despite the scoffing of the critics and the complaints of Long Haul about the extra work, Scrapper and his team did just that. When the city’s renovations were complete, it was stunningly gorgeous, and it was proclaimed by the media to be Scrapper’s magnum opus. The city’s beauty, and the glowing reviews it received, prompted a massive population to migrate to the now-beautiful city, revitalizing its economy and increasing its political importance tenfold. The planet’s central government, located in Iacon, even sent the city its own guardian robot, a quiet, thoughtful mech named Omega Supreme. The guardian was enraptured with the beauty of Crystal City (as Digilex had been nicknamed by the media) and, as such, he proved to be a most diligent guardian. In fact, he was one of the only mechs whose love for the city’s intricate architecture rivaled Scrapper’s own, and, as such, the two became fast friends. 

*

Bonecrusher wasn’t a particularly artistic type. Most of Scrapper’s talk of design and proportion and aesthetics went straight over his head, and he didn’t have much use for music or paintings or sculptures. But even Bonecrusher knew that Scrapper had outdone himself in designing Crystal City. The place was stunning. However, as much as he liked looking at the city, there was one thing about it he liked even more: its guardian, Omega Supreme. On the day the giant had arrived in Crystal City, Bonecrusher had challenged him to an arm wrestling match. The giant had laughed, and the two had been friends ever since. Bonecrusher had never met someone who could create explosions as big as the ones Omega Supreme made, and he appreciated having someone around to really test his strength against. Life was good. 

*

When Long Haul looked at Crystal City, he was proud of what he had helped to accomplish. True, he hadn’t gotten to use nearly as many of his own designs as he would’ve liked, but just being a part of a project like this was a real honor. Moreover, the payment Long Haul had received for being part of the renovation of Crystal City had been more than large enough for him to move all his friends and relatives out of Polyhex and into the booming construction industry of Tarn. Being a gofer wasn’t glamorous, but being  _ Scrapper’s _ gofer made for a good living, and it had also enabled him to make a good friend. Omega Supreme was very down-to-Cybertron despite his huge size, and Long Haul liked that. It reminded him of his family and gave him someone to talk to who wouldn’t start going on an incomprehensible lecture about something at a moment’s notice. (Bonecrusher and Scavenger weren’t particularly lecture-prone, either, but the former was too aggressive for Long Haul’s tastes and the latter was clingy and weird.) He’d always thought of the Guardian Robots as being kind of mysterious and reclusive, but Omega was anything but. Long Haul was glad to have him around, not least because Omega was quite willing to take over the role as the carrier of heavy loads when Long Haul got tired. 

*

Mixmaster didn’t much care one way or the other for Crystal City, except insofar as it had proved his genius in the field of chemistry. The city’s crystalline appearance was the direct result of a formula he had created, and now Cybertron’s entire scientific community was singing his praises. No one called him mad anymore, and for that he was willing to sit through endless babble from the media about how awesome the city was, boring as he found it. An added bonus of working on the project was the fact that he now had more than enough shanix to conduct whatever experiments he wanted! True, he would probably keep working with Scrapper’s team-they were more tolerable than most other mechs-but now he no longer needed to focus on something as mundane as construction. The wide world of arcane science was now open to him, and he couldn’t be more excited-especially not now that he had someone to listen to him about his theories. It had taken him several weeks to notice that Crystal City was under the protection of a Guardian robot, so absorbed was he in his work, but once he did, he quickly learned that he now had an attentive audience for all of his ideas. And so it was that Omega Supreme was added to the short list of mechs that Mixmaster was actually willing to tolerate. 

*

Hook had quite enjoyed the fame he had received as one of the creators of Crystal City, but he was even more proud of the fact that, shortly before the team had finished the city’s renovations, he had earned his second doctorate in the field of medicine. A natural overachiever, he had decided that one doctorate wasn’t enough for him, and so he had decided to earn a second just to silence any doubt that a construction vehicle wasn’t capable of becoming a surgeon. The fortune he had made from Crystal City eliminated all the debt he had accumulated during his vorns of schooling, and, with his newfound fame, he had been immediately hired as a surgeon in Crystal City’s biggest hospital (which he himself had, of course, helped renovate). In addition to his success in his chosen fields, Hook also became quite fond of the city’s new Guardian robot, Omega Supreme, who had proven to be intelligent, organized, and well-spoken. Hook quite liked him, and appreciated the effort that the giant expended to keep the number of emergencies in the city to a minimum. A surgeon’s work was never done, so it was nice to know that there was someone out there working hard to make sure that Hook’s responsibilities didn’t become overwhelming. 

*

Scavenger had never been so happy in his life. He was famous and had a lot of shanix and everyone seemed to like him! It was so amazing! True, he was usually mentioned last (often only as a footnote in articles and broadcasts), but he was still being talked about! What made it even better was that he had made a new friend! He’d been a little intimidated by the city’s new Guardian robot at first, mainly because of how big he was, but learned quickly that the gigantic mech was actually kind and friendly. He actually treated Scavenger better than his teammates did. (But they’d come around eventually. Scavenger was sure of it.) In return, Scavenger showered the big mech with presents (which were easy to find with his abilities) and attention. It was so nice to have a friend, especially one as big as Omega Supreme. 

*

Devastator hated Omega Supreme as much as his components had once liked him. Omega was a threat. He was big enough to hurt Devastator. Besides, the Constructicons didn’t need another big robot. They had him. They  _ were _ him! Devastator wasn’t going to let Omega Supreme steal his friends-who-were-him away from him! “DEVASTATOR SMASH OMEGA SUPREME! KILL HIM!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Megatron does his deadly work.

More time passed, and a mech named Megatron took the world by storm, conquering huge swathes of the planet, laying waste to anything and anyone in his path, and brainwashing any useful resources who wouldn’t join him voluntarily. The Constructicons had been among the first to be reprogrammed in this way, but Scrapper was glad that it had happened. Back when he had been “good”, he had expected that being warped into what he had once called evil would be terrifying and painful. It hadn’t been. On the contrary, when Megatron’s Robo-Smasher had begun altering his circuitry, it had been liberating. It was as though he had been blind for all his life, and now could suddenly see. His art had been so limited, so restricted by the expectations of society and his own blinkered viewpoint. Now, he knew that true beauty could only be forged through destruction and conquest. True art couldn’t be created until this petty, moralizing, restrictive world had been razed to the ground and rebuilt in Megatron’s image, and it was only fitting that the first blow he struck for true art was to destroy the city he had so mistakenly believed to be beautiful. His only regret was that he hadn’t been able to open Omega Supreme’s optics to the truth as well. Even now, he couldn’t bring himself to hate his old friend, and he still hoped that someday, he would realize that all true beauty was to be found in the Decepticon cause. 

*

As soon as Bonecrusher was reprogrammed by Megatron’s thingamajig, he had been overwhelmed with anger and a desire to destroy. It had been a relief to destroy Crystal City; it had served to temper his rage. But it hadn’t been enough. No matter how much he destroyed and fought and killed, his rage never completely died, and no matter how hard he tried, he could never regain the pure happiness that demolitions had once inspired in him. This only made him more angry, and so the cycle of rage continued. It made him a bit difficult to live and work with, but Megatron seemed to have no complaints. 

*

Long Haul actually didn’t feel very different after his reprogramming than he had before it. He was still a put-upon gofer who worked hard but didn’t get much, if any, of the glory. It was his teammates who had changed. Bonecrusher was constantly picking fights and beating Long Haul up. Scrapper’s genius was becoming a bit freaky. Who used corpses in architecture? Hook’s arrogance had become obnoxious, while his desire for perfection delayed and delayed his work to the point where it sometimes seemed like it would never get done. Mixmaster was stranger and creepier than ever, and Scavenger...well, Scavenger was about the same, really. But he’d always been annoying, so that didn’t help much. He’d always been a pessimist, but now it felt like he spent all his time complaining about his teammates and how weird they were. In fact, he was so busy complaining about the changes in his teammates that he didn’t notice the changes in himself: the shorter temper, the sense that fighting would relieve his feelings of frustration, the resentment of the praise his teammates received from Megatron, the love of being a part of Devastator, where he was finally respected. In truth, Long Haul had changed as much as any of his teammates. He was just too focused on how they had changed and how it had inconvenienced him to notice. 

*

Mixmaster had cackled all through his reprogramming as he felt his already-limited standards slip away. He had always been eccentric; the reprogramming, he felt, had merely freed him from concerns about being seen as respectable by the broader scientific community. Now free to experiment in any way he pleased, without that tedious oversight that had plagued his earlier research, he was in bliss. True, Omega had been horrified by the new him, and his teammates, even Scavenger, shied away, but he didn’t care. He had finally become one with science! What need had he for other mechs? Knowledge was a more than adequate substitute for the company of small-minded mechanisms surrounding him.

*

Of all the Constructicons (as Megatron had dubbed the team when he brainwashed them), Hook had fought the hardest against the reprogramming. He was quite proud of his mind and wasn’t about to sacrifice it in order to become someone’s puppet. However, his struggles proved to be in vain. Even a mind as strong as his couldn’t resist the Robo-Smasher. When he awoke after his reprogramming, he immediately accepted the strict logic of the Decepticon viewpoint….and felt nothing but contempt for his supposed allies. Most of them were uneducated, callous, crass, and violent, and it annoyed him to no end that he had to put up with them in order to pursue the only sensible path to Cybetron’s survival. His teammates were more tolerable than most, but even they couldn’t begin to understand his brilliant mind or his work as the Decepticon army’s most prominent surgeon. (Glit did not count as a proper surgeon. He didn’t even have opposable thumbs!) What’s more, none of his allies, including Megatron, seemed to understand the importance of a job done perfectly. Instead of praising him for his work, they complained about how long it took. No wonder so many of the Decepticons’ devices failed! He was never allowed to complete his work on them to his own standards of satisfaction! It was infuriating. What was the good in being a genius if no one listened to you?

*

Scavenger, upon his reprogramming, accepted the Decepticon ideology blindly, as he accepted pretty much everything. He didn’t want to upset his teammates or Megatron, after all, and they were all a lot smarter than he was. If they said that the Decepticons were right, then they were. True, the brutality sickened him and he hated the facts that his teammates were even more dismissive of him than they had been before they’d been reprogrammed, but what else could he do? He needed their support, especially after Devastator attacked Omega Supreme! Eventually, they’d see how valuable he really was. They had to! 

*

Devastator had always been a Decepticon. Devastator would always be a Decepticon, and so the Constructicons would always be Decepticons, too. Devastator would make sure of it. “ALL HAIL MEGATRON! SO SWEARS THE MIGHTY DEVASTATOR!” 

**FIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading!


End file.
